Crossley: Houston-area traffic deaths are a crisis

Smarter urban planning and lowering speed limits to 25 mph or lower within city will reduce fatalities

By Jay Blazek Crossley

Published 5:14 pm, Tuesday, June 23, 2015

A five-year-old boy died in Houston on Saturday while riding his bicycle ("5-year-old boy dies after being struck by SUV," June 21, chron.com). No family should have to deal with such a tragedy. However, every two days on average, three people die on the streets of the Houston region - 667 people died in 2014 in the 13-county Houston region. Nearly every single day, another Houston-area family forever loses a loved one, all too often due to a traffic collision that could have been avoided.

Police are reporting the woman driving the car that struck the boy is not facing any charges and was not under the influence or speeding at the time. This outcome doesn't mean our rules of the road regarding vulnerable road users do not need attention. And the city has several opportunities to make roads safer.

For example, Texas law requires a 30 mph speed limit in the city of Houston on local residential streets unless a different speed limit is posted. If you are walking and are hit by a car traveling 30 mph, you have a 60 percent chance of survival, while at 20 mph, you have a 95 percent chance of survival. In the legislative session that just ended earlier this month, Houston Tomorrow worked on SB 1717 with the city of Houston Public Works and Engineering Department and Houston state Sen. Rodney Ellis to change the local street speed limit to 25 mph and allow the city to use 20 mph where appropriate. Unfortunately, the bill was never taken up for consideration by the Senate Transportation Committee.

Accounting for all residents

The five-year-old boy who had been riding along a sidewalk "was just doing what little boys do. Just riding his bicycle, kinda not paying attention, suddenly veered into the roadway, and he was struck," according to the Houston Police officer interviewed by KPRC-TV.

We need streets and sidewalks designed for little boys doing what little boys do. Two urban road safety approaches address this need. The Complete Streets concept, which the city has embraced, is the idea that all Houstonians matter - whether they're in cars, on two wheels or on foot. And it's a crucial element of Vision Zero, a multinational road-safety project. Specifically, it is the idea that we should design, allocate funding and build our transportation system for the safety and comfort of all users, regardless of age, ability or mode of transport.

Beyond law enforcement

Law enforcement should not be the only agency to respond to the death of this little boy. Vision Zero will require assistance from many different departments and jurisdictions to address the crisis of avoidable traffic fatalities. For example, the city's Public Works Department and Planning Department should investigate how changing things like street design, building codes or parking requirements could reduce fatal crashes.

We must treat traffic deaths in the Houston region as the public health crisis it is.

Cities around the world are taking a comprehensive approach to bringing the number of people who die on the streets to zero. New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Boston, San Jose and Austin are all committed to Vision Zero. While we have made progress on bicycle deaths with the Goal Zero bicycle safety program, Houston is now the largest city in America without a Vision Zero plan that would attempt to eliminate traffic deaths for people using all modes of travel.

The Houston region's 134 mayors should commit to Vision Zero by the end of this year, starting with Houston Mayor Annise Parker. And every Houston mayoral candidate should commit to pursuing this vision and making serious progress over the next six years. This crisis will not be fixed overnight, but we can begin making progress immediately.

How could we not try?

I want a Houston region where little kids, seniors and other Houstonians can safely walk, run, bicycle, or drive and where families do not deal with such a tragic loss nearly every day.